ABU DHABI — Etihad Aviation Group and TUI AG today confirmed they are in discussions to create a strong European leisure ******* group, focused on point-to-point flying to connect key tourist markets.
Germany’s struggling Air Berlin says it will discuss transferring part of its fleet to a new group that would be set up by tour operator TUI Group and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, a major shareholder.
It is proposed to contribute the touristic operations of the airberlin group and the German TUIfly company, including the aircraft currently operated by TUIfly for airberlin under a wet-lease agreement, into a new ******* group. It would serve a broad network of destinations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Air Berlin’s announcement came after it said last week that it plans to cut its 144-strong fleet nearly in half and eliminate some 1,200 jobs as part of a restructuring to develop a leaner operation and focus on its most profitable routes.
The new leisure ******* group will be supported by the expertise of Etihad Aviation Group, a fast-growing aviation group, and utilize TUI’s state-of-the-art distribution capacity.
TUI AG, Etihad Aviation Group and Air Berlin PLC intend to finalize an in-principle agreement in due course. Any agreement entered into will be subject to all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals.
TUIfly is part of TUI Group, a leading tourism business, with around 75,000 employees serving 30 million customers a year, across the globe. TUI Group has a portfolio of more than 300 hotels, 14 cruise liners, six European airlines with around 140 aircraft and a wide-reaching distribution network, covering more than 1,800 travel agencies and online portals.
Etihad Aviation Group is a diversified aviation and travel group, with more than 26,000 employees. It comprises four business divisions – Etihad Airways, the national ******* of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways Engineering, the Hala Group, its destination management company, and the ******* Equity Partners.
Etihad Aviation Group holds minority stakes in Air Berlin PLC, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Regional, *** Airways and Virgin Australia.
airberlin is the second largest ******* in Germany and carried more than 30.2 million passengers in 2015. airberlin offers a global route network through its strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, which has a 29.21 per cent shareholding in airberlin, and through membership of the oneworld ******* alliance.
